In the latest in a series of blogs where members of the Informed Choice team talk about what they are doing at the moment, managing director Martin Bamford writes about his first 10k race on Jubilee Bank Holiday Monday.
Since writing this time last month, I’ve become a little bit addicted to running.
It was a painful start, hobbling round a two mile course and aching for days afterwards. Like all things, with regular practice running became a lot easier.
My original goal was to run in a 10k race in mid-July. This gave me twelve weeks to prepare and seemed like a reasonable target.
Once the running addiction had kicked in, I discovered that running 10k in under an hour was well within my reach and decided to enter an earlier race.
The Godalming Jubilee Run was held on Monday, offering a 5k or 10k race to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. I went to college in Godalming and love the town, so it seemed like a nice way to start my racing career!
Arriving 90 minutes early to register, I was given the race number 213 and a timing chip to strap to my wrist. It was nice chatting to some friends and other runners before the start, which helped to keep any pre-race nerves at bay.
With ten minutes to go before the start, I had a quick jog down the road to warm up – and then before I knew it, I was standing in the middle of 350 people and counting down to the sound of the claxon.
It was a great race; varied terrain switching from town roads to countryside tracks and a woodland path alongside the River Wey. There was lots of support from people who were lining the streets to celebrate the Jubilee, which gave me the motivation I needed for a fast race.
And there were hills. Big hills.
The worst hill was the long driveway to the prestigious Charterhouse School, where despite running the whole way I managed little faster than a slow walking pace. The sight of the historic school buildings at the top of the hill lifted my spirits though.
For the last 400m I managed a sprint finish, securing 194th place and a time of 55:53 – a new personal best for me!
I’ve definitely got the running bug and look forward to racing on the much flatter course in Cranleigh on 15th July where, after a bit more training, I’m hoping to chip away further at my time and have a really strong race.
How did you celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee?
Photo credit: SussexSportPhotography.com
